What Lies Within
by xsoranhoe
Summary: Lance just wants to be normal again. —Lance centric, probably no main ship but Klance is a possibility


"Keith? Shiro! I can't keep running, you have to hurr—" Crap. Lance rounded the corner, grunting upon the sight of another party of soldiers coming his way. Allura had said that this mission would be relatively easy. Lance wondered if easy meant something else in Altean. "Guys! Anyone, come in!"

" _We're just about finished. You can head back to your lion now."_ Shiro's voice rang through the coms.

"You don't have to tell me twice."

Lance ran, not even bothering to deal with the fleet of Galrans on his tail. He usually never had trouble maneuvering his way through a place, but the group of aliens trying to kill him made it a little hard. He dodged, ran, then fired back. Dodged, ran, fired back.

How long could he keep this up?

"I nee—" His cry for help broke off. His leg contracted in agony. One of the soldiers had shot him. Twice. _Damn it!_

Lance headed to where he only hoped was the right place. It got harder as he went on. More Galrans were trailing him. He kept running because they were still chasing and he had to get back to his team.

The shot to his leg surged with each step he took. It was excruciating. But if he stopped, he would feel greater pain.

If his wounds weren't enough, his rifle only made running more of a hassle. He'd have to get rid of it. Lance's weapon glowed retreated back into - _where did it even go_? He shook off the thought, deciding that it was a terrible time to be getting distracted. Especially since he was defenseless now.

" _This is Pidge, I'm in Green."_

" _Yellow and I are ready to go!"_

" _I'm with Shiro. We're almost there."_

They were all ready already! He needed to hurry up. But where was he supposed to go? The blue paladin came to a stop, reaching a hallway that looked familiar. Turn right - no, _left_! He had come from the left side. Or was it the other way? Quiznack! Was he even in the right spot?

The heavy footsteps of the soldiers drew closer. If he didn't decide now, he'd wouldn't get the chance to decide ever again. _Left it is,_ he thought.

He skidded around the corner, escaping by a hair. However, one of the Galrans managed to land a shot just before he slipped away. He instinctively brought his hand up to his left shoulder which stung in response. _Jesus, the cryopods better be ready for me._

Lance carried on.

He felt heavy after running for what felt like forever. It wasn't until he encountered another intersection that the paladin realized—he went the wrong way. The turn he was _supposed_ to take should've led to a dead end where he would find the hole that Pidge cut into the ship.

The fleet was approaching. He could hear them.

 _Screw it,_ Lance thought. He turned right, then left, then right again, taking turns at random to shake off the soldiers. Gone was the objective of getting back to the team; right now he just needed to get rid of his company.

And he did indeed find a dead end.

But it still wasn't the right one.

Great, he cornered himself. How could he mess up like that? _No time to sweat about it._ The paladin weighed out the two options he had.

Going back was suicide. There were too many Galrans for him to take on by himself. He was injured. Plus, if he kept running, he'd get tired. Then he'd get caught. Then kil— Lance abandoned his train of thought. Turning back was out of the question.

He could call upon his teammates. For a few seconds, it _did_ seem like a good idea. But they were already there! By now, Shiro and Keith would have reached their lions. He couldn't jeopardize the mission. If any of them came back for him, even more would be at risk. The cloaking that Pidge put on their lions would eventually deactivate, leaving them exposed.

He was running out of time!

Lance analyzed his surroundings. No vents, no openings, just the door. Wait! A door!

He failed to notice it before. Unlike every other door on the Galra ship, the door didn't require identification to be opened. He didn't know if that was a good or bad thing, but the sounds that seemed to be getting louder told him that he didn't have much time to think about it.

The door slid open and closed once he entered. Lance shifted his weight onto the wall and let himself slide down to a sitting position. He took the time to catch his breath and examine his injuries. A long gash that cut through the suit ran across his abdomen. It had long since stopped bleeding but the pain lingered. There were the wounds on his leg from earlier which were worsened after running. And then his shoulder.

He winced.

Lance scanned the room. It was massive. It looked bigger than all the other rooms he'd been in. What really caught his eye though, was the rows and rows of containers filled with a liquid Lance knew not of. _What is this place_?

A noise from somewhere in the room caught his attention. The paladin came to a stand and summoned his bayard.

Only to have it zapped out of his hand.

 _But there's no one in here! How—_

"You are fascinating."

Lance stilled. It was a woman, he knew that much. There was something about her voice that he couldn't put his finger on. It was unique, unforgettable. He had heard it somewhere. Somewhere. Where? Who? He grew frustrated. Why was it so hard to think?

He should've been more careful. He was lucky to even be alive. For all he knew, whoever was in here with him could've killed him the moment he stepped through those doors. He was so stupid!

"Do not worry, my Lance."

Fear seared through him upon hearing his name.

Lance. _My Lance. My_ Lance.

"Who are you?" Was all he managed to choke out.

His legs had proved themselves to be unresponsive. He couldn't move. Why couldn't he move? What was she doing to him? What did she _want_ with him? Last he heard, the Zarkon and everyone who served him sought the Black Lion. And he was the paladin of the _Blue_ Lion. It made no sense.

"We're going to have so much fun."

If the room wasn't already dark before, it had become much darker. Almost pitch black.

But Lance could still make out a golden glow. Distant, but bright.

Then—

Then she was in front of him. Golden eyes shone through the hood of her robe, bringing light to the long grey hair that rested on her shoulders and red markings on either side of her face.

He knew her.

And that terrified Lance.

He hadn't even realized she was touching him until the cold feel of her fingers were trailing up his neck. He wanted so badly to shy away from her grim touch because she should _not_ be touching him. It was wrong. It was _wrong_.

"Stop—stop! Don't touch me."

She paid no heed to his plea.

"Let me in, Lance."

What did that even mean?

She caressed his face. When did he even take his helmet off? Or was that something she did? How could he have not noticed? So many questions. All he knew was that he didn't want _her_ caressing him in a way his mother would. She was not his mamá—far from it.

Lance stared at her, a mixture of fear and disgust. He shook his head. He wanted her _gone._

"What do you want?" Was all he managed to conjure up. It came out no louder than a whisper. A twisted grin made it's way onto her face.

"I'll let you go if you let me in."

The woman's words left him dumbstruck.

Her voice had been more forceful and violent. He shook his head again; frantically, this time. She took her sharp nails—claws?—and dug into his temple. Lance felt the blood trickling down the side of his face from the puncture. He whined. She only pressed harder, driving her finger further into his head.

"Say my name, Lance."

He thought he knew the worst of pain. He was wrong. His insides burned. Or was it so cold that it felt hot? He didn't know. But it _hurt._ His entire body underwent agony. What if he didn't do as she asked?

Would he kill her?

He heaved. "N...no! No, I won't! Stop!"

"Say my name! Let me in!"

His head ached. With each ragged breath, the pain amplified. Blood came oozing out of numerous wounds. He wanted it to stop. He wanted her to stop.

"Just let me in, Lance!"

 _Let me in._

 _Let me in._

 _Let—_

 _Lance._

 _—me in._

 _Lance!_

 _Come in._

 _Lance!_

 _Come in!_

 _Lance come i—_

" _—n! Lance? Come in!_ "

The sheer feeling of terror he had felt just a moment ago turned to one of confusion. He was still there, sitting back against the wall. The room wasn't dark anymore and the only pain he felt came from the wounds that the Galran soldiers gave him.

And she wasn't there anymore.

" _Lance, tell us where you are!_ "

Where did she go?

" _Lance?_ "

Had she even been there in the first place?

" _Lance!_ "

 _Say my name, Lance._

"Haggar?"

 _A/N: guess who has no idea where she's going with this fic? thats right! me!_

 _this was ib like 4 other fanfics that i read. i just really loved what they all wrote so i had to mash it all together and add my own flavor to it. so that explains why it's all over the place. i promise it will get better though!_


End file.
